Practice,
Practice,
Practice

practicing
is the key
point for
improving your
game. You know
the saying
among dart
players:
"Three
rules for
becoming a good
player?
practice,
practice,
practice!"

But
practicing is
not only
tossing darts
on a dartboard
for several
hours with an
automatic
getting-better
result.
Athletes may
gain muscle
power from
repeating the
same
brain-killing
exercises over
and over, but
darts is not
some martial
art; it's skill
and touch that
matters. So
dart practice
is a different
matter, and I
want to give
you some tips
here on how you
should do it.

Frequency
and awareness
before quantityGeneral
notes on how
you should plan
and handle your
practicing
sessions

How
often, how
much? This is
one of the
standard
questions I get
from players.
The general
answer is of
course not
surprising: As
often as
possible, as
much as
possible.

But how many
people have 8
hours or more
per day they
can use for
practicing
darts? Answer:
Maybe the pros
and some of the
unemployed, but
hardly anyone
else. So you
get your
personal answer
- use as much
time as you can
or are willing
to afford. If
this is 8 hours
per day, great.
If this is 1
hour, okay.

However long
this time is,
you should use
it right. 1
hour of
intense, aware
and motivated
practice is
better than 8
hours of
boredom and
so-so arrow
tossing. And,
as in the
headline of
this paragraph,
frequency is
more important
than quantity.
An example:
Player A does 7
or more hours
of practicing
each Sunday and
nothing during
the rest of the
week. Player B
practices half
an hour on
workdays, 2
hours on
Saturday and
then enjoys a
lazy Sunday.
Guess who uses
his time
better... yes,
frequency is
more important
than quantity,
so player B's
regime is much
better.

Try to
practice each
day of the
week, with not
more than 1 or
two days off.
Even if you can
only spend 20
minutes on
workdays this
is good
practice,
although you
should then
plan at least
one longer
practice
session on
weekends, let's
say more than 2
hours if you
are serious
about improving
your game. The
frequency
postulate can
also be used
for doing two
or more short
practice
sessions on one
day. E.g. play
for 15 minutes
during lunch
hour if you
have the chance
to, and for
another 15
minutes when
you come home.
German top
player Andre
Welge used to
get up 20
minutes earlier
in the morning
to get some
additional
practicing
before he went
to work. Not
anybody's
strategy (at
least not mine,
I REALLY hate
getting up
early), but a
good one.

Then, not
only is
frequency
better than
quantity,
intensity also
is. Do your
practice
sessions on a
concentration
level similar
to your match-play
level. If you
find your
concentration
or motivation
dropping during
a longer
session, go for
a pause. Again
15 minutes up
to half an hour
are okay for
such pausing.
You can and
should also
pause if your
motivation
drops during a
practice
session, and
also when you
are unhappy
with your game.
Better stop and
try again a
while later
with new
motivation and
awareness.
Unconcentrated
and unmotivated
practice is bad
practice. Pro
Rod Harrington
told me he
doesn't
practice when
he has no fun
doing it. In
darts there is
no use for
forcing oneself
to practicing.
If you don't
want to, don't
do. But of
course, if you
aren't eager to
get to the
board again
after one or
two lazy days
you will hardly
have the
personality to
become a strong
player. In many
other sports
self-torment
(mostly to gain
muscle power)
is a necessity,
but not in
darts. Darts is
touch and
coordination,
not physical
suffering.

Why
it should be solitairepracticing
alone is the
best way

solitaire
practicing is
much more
valuable than
practicing with
friends or
practicing only
by playing as
much matches as
possible.
Match-play is
of course also
very important,
but if I should
give a ratio
I'd say a good
one is one
third match play,
two thirds (or
even more) solitaire.

The reasons
behind this are
not really
obvious,
especially
because many
players
experience that
they are doing
well in solitaire
and
(relatively)
suck in match play,
so they are
thinking it's
the lack of match-play
practice that
causes that.
That is,
however, wrong.

As a matter
of fact every
player plays
worse in match-play
than he does in
practice. It is
of course hard
to believe, but
even the pros
do. And this
not only in
darts, it is
valid for any
other sport. To
increase our match-play
performance to
NEARLY (exactly
of course would
be great but it
is in fact
impossible!)
the level of
our practice
performance we
must mainly use
sports
psychology,
because the
mental aspects
of match-play
are the reason
for this
phenomenon .
And note - if
you are one of
these rare
players who say
they do better
in match play
than they do in
practice, the
reason (and the
ONLY reason!)
is the
following: You
don't practice
enough, period.

But it is
still not clear
why solitaire
practicing is
that important.
As a personal
summary, I'd
say this:
"Practicing
with partners,
no matter if
they are better
or worse than
you, forces you
to raise your
limit above
theirs.
Practicing
alone
constantly
forces you to
raise your
limit above
yourself, and
this limit is
higher than you
might dream
of!" So
you can nearly
infinitely
improve your
game only by
always trying
to beat your
limit. No
matter how good
you are, you
can always be
better. No
friendly or
rivalry match play
practice can do
this when your
opponents stick
to their level.
To say it
literally - the
only way to
make your
current
personal limit
your future
standard is
practicing
alone.

The
right games to
playwhich
practicing
games to play
and why

Whenever
discussion
comes to
practicing this
is an almost
immediate
question. The
answer mainly
depends on your
personal
weaknesses.

Many
player's
practice is
mainly
hammering 60s,
then going around
a few doubles
or bulls and
then back to
60s. This is of
course
nonsense. In
many X01
leagues or
tournaments you
will see
players scoring
great but
missing on the
double. Unless
you play on pro
levels, most
games will be
decided on the
double, not on
score. So the
main weakness
of 'normal'
players is
hitting
doubles. This
means the most
important
practice for
all kinds of
players below
pro level is
practicing
doubles in any
form, and for
beginners
additional
practice on
singles is
required.

A good
practicing game
must be:

Generally
improving
your
accuracy
all over
the board,

Suitable
for solitaire,

Focusing
on doubles
and singles
for x01 and
on trebles
and singles
for
cricket,

Challenging
and
demanding
to your
level of
play, but
not awkward
difficult
or
frustrating
but

Encouraging,
fun and
competitive
and

At best
not require
chalking to
keep you in
rhythm.

So we can
discard any '60
hammering'
right from the
scratch, and we
can discard 501
itself as 501
practice
because it focuses
too much on
scoring.

I will give
you some nice
games later,
but at the
moment I want
to give you
some more notes
on the
'encouraging,
fun and
competitive'
point. This is
very important,
because as
stated above
your practicing
sessions should
be motivating.
So you have to
give yourself
some aims in
practice,
especially for
your longer
practice
sessions. This
is done best by
monitoring your
progress in
some way.
Monitoring of
course requires
that one thing
few of us are
able to keep
when they are
monitoring
themselves:
OBJECTIVITY.

The best way
to remain
objective is
writing down
your
achievements in
a notebook (or,
as we are
living in
so-called
modern times,
keep a
spreadsheet or
database). To
do this the
results of the
games you are
choosing must
be available in
the form of
measurable
quantities
(thanks to
Galilei's view
of science:
measure what's
measurable, and
make measurable
what isn't at
present) - less
sophisticated
this reads:
your games must
have a point
system or you
must invent one
for them. For
more
information on
how to run such
'scorebooks'
read alt.sport.darts
Games FAQ.
There also are
some practice
games and
regimes
available. Many
games can also
be found on The
Most Complete
Collection Of
Dart Games On
The Web

And finally
here are my
suggestions for
practice games:

170

Good
for any playing
strength, this
is just a
shortened
version of 501,
and most of you
will know it.
Just like 501
it is 170
straight start,
finish on a
double. The
game focuses on
finishing
(doubles!) and
a bit of score.
It is
encouraging
because 170 is
that big out shot
you are looking
for, and the
result can be
measured
perfectly by
the amount of
darts needed to
finish. Play a
couple of 170s
in your
practice
sessions and
write down the
darts you
needed for each
of them. You
can watch
progress by
calculating
averages for
each day.

Round
the board
(many
alterations
possible!)

For
the beginner
this is a
perfect basic
game. Throw for
singles from 1
to 20 plus
bull. Throw for
each number
until you hit
it and count
the darts you
needed.

Round the
board can be
played in
exactly this
form with
doubles and
trebles. If you
don't find it
boring, it is a
perfect game
for practicing.

One
alteration I
was using
heavily is
this: shoot 3
darts at each
number's treble
from 1 to 20
and bull.
Hitting the
number's single
scores 1 point,
hitting the
treble 3
points. This
game is simple
but very good,
because it lets
you go round
the board, lets
you group darts
around trebles
and lets you
always aim at a
new high score.
If you are
beginner -
average you
will find your
high score
first around or
beyond the 60
region. When
you get better
you will have
70+. 80+ is
great, and
above 100 is
expert/pro
level. This
game is a good
practice for
trebles
(cricket), but
unfortunately
doesn't do
anything for
doubles (except
generally
improving your
accuracy).

Finishing

This
game is a bit
more demanding.
You start from
60 points and
try to shoot it
out with 3
darts. If you
miss to shoot
out with 3,
then you go
down 1 point
for the next
throw. If you
hit it, you go
up 10 points,
and so on as
long as you
like or until
you reach more
than can be
shot out with 3
darts (let me
know if you get
that far...).

and so on. Just
see how far you
can get. This
game is less
worthy for your
scorebook, but
it is
encouraging and
demanding. A
danger is it
may lead you to
frustration, so
if this happens
play a
different game.
Very good
practice for
X01 and
doubles.

25

This
is a very
tough game
suitable for
good players.
You start
from 25
points and
shoot 3 darts
at each
double from 1
to 20 + bull.
Add hit
double's
values, and subtract
the double's
value once if
you fail to
hit with 3.
If you fall
below 0 the
game is over
(lesser
players can
play with
minus points
allowed or
start with
more than 25
points to
avoid
frustration).
If you reach
bull and have
a
considerable
score
afterwards
this is very
good. I think
there is an
old world
record above
600 points or
so for this
game.

Great game
for good
players, very
good double
practice and
very
competitive.

And of
course, any
other game you
like that meets
the
requirements is
great.

The above
games are
mainly meant
for your longer
practice
sessions (1
hour and more),
with 170 being
an exception.
This game is
also very good
for your short
term practice.
You can also
play just one
or two round
the board
variations in
short term
practice, but
generally it is
better to get
for some often
needed doubles,
then going for
some score and
then go back to
doubles or
trebles just as
long as you get
some 'feeling'
for the dart
and your throw.
In a short term
practice
session it is
not so
important how
much you
actually hit.
Concentrating
and getting the
right feeling
are much more
important.

Warm-uphow
to get prepared
for a match

Warming
up before
league play and
tournaments is
very important
and worth a
special
paragraph. You
should at least
do half an hour
of concentrated
warm-up before
important
league matches
or tournaments.
E.g. the pros
playing the
World
Championship
are warming up
for several
hours (!)
before the
match. Eric
Bristow used to
feel ready for
battle only
when he got 4
or 5 hours of
practice before
one single
match (which
then lasted
even shorter
than his
practice
session
before). He won
the title five
times so he
seemed to know
what he did. Of
course such
extreme warm-up
is rarely
possible with
tournament
starts at AM
and league
nights right
after work.

Once you
know your most
common problems
you will
develop your
own warm-up
routines, like
hitting each
double at least
once or twice
or playing
round the
boards and so
on. Of course warm-up
is also a
situation where
you may and
should go for
increased
scoring
practice, but
still doubles
(or trebles for
cricket) are
more important.
If diddle for
middle is the
rule or if
cricket will be
played of
course bull is
important, too.

Remember
before the
tournament or
league it still
is solitaire
that rules! It
is especially
dangerous here
to stick too
much to match-play
for warm-up
because warm-up
is a situation
where you need
to get rid of
possible
technical
problems as
soon as
possible. This
requires your
full
concentration,
and warm-up
matches are
very likely to
put your
concentration
on winning them
instead of
fighting your
problems! You
can of course
switch to
playing them
once your
feeling and
technique are
set for the
day, but not
earlier.

There is one
routine I have
developed for
occasions where
I don't have
much time to
warm up for
some reason. I
start with
throwing my
darts on D20 or
even above D20.
This because
the high darts
require a good
follow-through,
and usually
this is my main
technical
problem. When I
then have a
good feeling on
D20 I go for
some score only
to get back on
the D20 shortly
after. When D20
sucks then I
repeat this
until it works
(which usually
means the
follow-through
is there and
working), and
then I finally
go for some
rounds on D3
with the first,
Bull with the
second and D20
with the third
dart. This
develops my
height feeling
for going
around the
board. Followed
by some darts
on doubles I'm,
say
"emergency-ready".